Dalbergia nigra

Dalbergia nigra, commonly known as the Bahia Rosewood, Jacarandá da Bahia, Brazilian Rosewood, Rio Rosewood, Jacarandá De Brasil, Pianowood, Caviuna, or Obuina, is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Brazil, from the eastern forests of Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. It is threatened by habitat loss, since most of its habitat has been converted to farmland. Due to its endangered status, it was CITES-listed on Nov. 6 1992 in Appendix I^[1] (the most protected), and illegal to trade.

Dalbergia nigra produces a very hard and heavy wood, characteristically varied in colour from brick red through various shades of light chocolate brown to very dark violet brown with veins of black creating random lines and a highly prized figure called 'spider webbing' or 'landscape'. The odour of Brazilian rosewood is unmistakeable, having a floral fragrance reminiscent of roses with a distinctive sweetness and at its strongest in very colourful old growth wood. Another distinguishing feature is its outstanding resonance. When tapped it emits a bright metallic ring that sustains. This property combined with its beauty has made Brazilian rosewood a favourite of musical instrument makers for centuries.

The wood of this species has been much sought after since it was first introduced to the European and subsequently the world market hundreds of years ago. It was put to both utilitarian and decorative uses in its native Brazil including structural beams, flooring, wall lining and furniture. Outside its native country, Dalbergia nigra predominantly found favour in high grade furniture such as that produced during the Regency period of late 18th and early 19th centuries and more recently by Scandinavian makers under the 'Danish Modern' style. Various types of musical instruments, decorative woodware, knife handles and turnery have also made use of this species. Much of the most highly figured material was sliced into veneers which decorated items such as domestic and office furniture, wall panels, piano cases and it was also a favourite of marquetry artists.

Old growth Brazilian rosewood harvested before 1992 continues to be highly prized by makers of both classical and steel string guitars. It has been regarded as the premier wood for backs and sides of guitars and its use can be traced back to late Renaissance and Baroque times when it was used for making lute backs (ribs) and various other parts of other stringed musical instruments and also woodwind instruments such as flutes and recorders. Wood obtained from stumps left after previous harvesting of trunks decades ago is also being offered for sale. This material is often very colourful but not as stable or even grained as the wood available prior to the CITES embargo.

References

1. ^ http://cites.org/eng/resources/species.html

Varty, N. 1998. Dalbergia nigra. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.2. [1]